Sun Microsystems Inc and Liberate Technologies Inc got together at the Cable99 conference in Chicago yesterday to announce a joint marketing agreement under which the two will work together to offer combined hardware and software to enable service providers, cable operators and carriers to offer digital TV and broadband services. Under terms of the agreement, the companies said they would collaborate on marketing scalable and server- based products that integrate Liberate’s server software with Sun’s enterprise servers and StorEdge storage arrays.
Liberate’s server software includes Liberate Connect server suites and Liberate TV Info. The core product, Liberate Connect enables ISPs, telcos, cable companies and network operators to deploy web-based content, for example video-on-demand, to information appliances such as set-top boxes, smart phones and hand-held computers. Liberate TV Info is an enhanced TV application platform which enables network operators to build, manage and deliver data to TV listings-based applications, such as an electronic program guide.
Bill Correll, Sun’s worldwide market development manager for digital media said when combined with Liberate’s other core product, Navigate – its set-top box software stack – the resulting product set will allow network providers to offer end- to-end interactive services. As well as the joint marketing initiative, the two companies will also work to optimize Liberate’s software on the Solaris platform as well as integrating Liberate’s technologies with Sun’s Personal Java for set-top boxes and its Java TV APIs. รก
